1990 in heavy metal music

This is a timeline documenting the events of heavy metal in the year 1990.

Newly formed bands

• 21 Guns
• Allegiance
• Amorphis
• Anathema
• Antestor
• Ark
• Arghoslent
• ASKA
• At the Gates
• Bad Moon Rising
• Barathrum
• Beyond Dawn
• Body Count (by rapper Ice-T)
• Brutal Truth
• Buzzoven
• Centinex
• Channel Zero
• Chokehold
• Christ Agony
• Comecon
• Contraband
• Converge
• Crowbar
• The Crown
• Dark Heresy
• Dog Eat Dog
• Dawn
• Dead Infection
• Demigod
• Demilich
• Disbelief
• Exhumed
• Finger Eleven
• God Dethroned
• The God Machine
• Green Carnation
• Haemorrhage
• Hate
• Impaled Nazarene
• Impiety
• In Flames
• Isole
• Krisiun
• Lacrimosa
• Local H
• Lost Horizon (then known as Highlander)
• Lost Soul
• Man Is the Bastard
• Marduk
• Merauder
• Mirror Of Deception
• Monstrosity
• Morgion
• Morpheus Descends
• My Dying Bride
• Nifelheim
• Nocturnal Rites
• Novembre
• Osvajači
• Pan.Thy.Monium
• Paragon
• Penance
• Quicksand
• Regurgitate
• Roxy Blue
• Runemagick
• Seance
• Septicflesh
• Shadow King
• Skrew
• Skyclad
• Sleep
• Slough Feg
• Solstice
• Subway To Sally
• Sugartooth
• Suiciety
• The Tea Party
• Temple of the Dog
• Thergothon
• Tool
• Torture Squad
• Tourniquet
• Winter's Bane

Albums & EPs

• 24-7 Spyz – Gumbo Millennium
• AC/DC – The Razors Edge
• Agony Column – Comes Alive (EP) (live)
• Alice in Chains – Facelift
• Aggressor – Indestructible (demo)
• Anacrusis – Reason
• Angkor Wat – Corpus Christi
• Annihilator – Never, Neverland
• Anthem – No Smoke Without Fire
• Anthrax – Persistence of Time
• Apocrypha – Area 54
• Artillery – By Inheritance
• Asphalt Ballet – Asphalt Ballet (album)
• Atrocity – Hallucinations
• Atrophy – Violent by Nature
• Cronos - Dancing In the Fire
• The Bang Gang – Love Sells...
• Barren Cross – Hotter Than Hell Live! (live)
• Bathory – Hammerheart
• Baton Rouge – Shake Your Soul
• Believer – Sanity Obscure
• Benediction - Subconscious Terror
• Biohazard – Biohazard
• Bitter End – Harsh Realities
• The Black Crowes – Shake Your Money Maker
• Black Sabbath – Tyr
• Blasphemy - Fallen Angel of Doom
• Blind Guardian – Tales from the Twilight World
• Blue Cheer – Highlights and Lowlives
• Adam Bomb – Pure S.E.X
• Jon Bon Jovi – Blaze of Glory
• Cancer – To the Gory End
• Cannibal Corpse – Eaten Back to Life
• Carnage – Dark Recollections
• Celtic Frost – Vanity/Nemesis
• Chastain – For Those Who Dare
• Child'ƨ Play – Rat Race
• Cinderella – Heartbreak Station
• Cold Sweat – Break Out
• Cry Wolf – Crunch
• Damn Yankees – Damn Yankees
• Danzig – Danzig II: Lucifuge
• Deliverance – Weapons of Our Warfare
• Death – Spiritual Healing
• Death Angel – Act III
• Deicide – Deicide
• Destruction – Cracked Brain
• Bruce Dickinson – Tattooed Millionaire
• Dio – Lock Up the Wolves
• Don Dokken – Up from the Ashes
• Earthshaker – Pretty Good!
• Electric Angels – Electric Angels
• Electric Boys – Funk-O-Metal Carpet Ride
• Entombed – Left Hand Path
• Eternal Ryte - World requiem
• Exhorder – Slaughter in the Vatican
• Extreme – Pornograffitti
• Exodus – Impact Is Imminent
• Eyehategod – In the Name of Suffering
• Fastway – Bad Bad Girls
• Flotsam and Jetsam – When the Storm Comes Down
• Forbidden – Twisted into Form
• FireHouse – FireHouse
• Michael Lee Firkins – Michael Lee Firkins
• Gamma Ray – Heading for Tomorrow
• Grinder – The 1st EP (EP)
• Gwar – Scumdogs of the Universe
• Harter Attack – Human Hell
• Heavens Edge – Heavens Edge
• Heavens Gate – Open the Gate and Watch! (EP)
• Hellion – The Black Book
• Helmet – Strap It On
• Hericane Alice – Tear the House Down
• Hexx – Watery Graves (EP)
• Holy Moses – World Chaos
• Holy Soldier – Holy Soldier
• House of Lords – Sahara
• Iced Earth – Iced Earth
• Impetigo - Ultimo Mondo Cannibale
• Iron Maiden – No Prayer for the Dying
• Intrinsic – Distortion of Perspective (EP)
• Jane's Addiction – Ritual de lo Habitual
• Jersey Dogs – Thrash Ranch
• Jetboy – Damned Nation
• Judas Priest – Painkiller
• Killer Dwarfs - Dirty Weapons
• Killing Joke – Extremities, Dirt & Various Repressed Emotions
• Kill For Thrills – Dynamite from Nightmareland
• King Diamond – The Eye
• King's X – Faith Hope Love
• Krokus - Stampede
• Jeffrey Kollman – Schizoid
• Richie Kotzen – Fever Dream
• Kreator – Coma of Souls
• Krokus – Stampede
• Kyuss – Sons of Kyuss (EP)
• Laos – We Want It
• Legs Diamond – Town Bad Girl
• Little Caesar – Little Caesar
• Living Colour – Time's Up
• London – Playa Del Rock
• Lostboys – Lost and Found
• Love/Hate – Blackout in the Red Room
• Lynch Mob – Wicked Sensation
• Tony MacAlpine – Eyes of the World
• Frank Marino – From the Hip
• Master – Master
• Yngwie Malmsteen – Eclipse
• Manilla Road - The Courts of Chaos
• Manitoba's Wild Kingdom – ...And You?
• Alex Masi – Vertical Invader
• Megadeth – Rust in Peace
• Meliah Rage – Solitary Solitude
• Monster Magnet – Monster Magnet (EP)
• Morbid Saint – Spectrum of Death
• Mortician - Brutally Mutilated
• Morgana Lefay – Symphony of the Damned
• Morgoth - The Eternal Fall (EP)
• Mystic-Force – Take Command - The Demo Years (compilation)
• Napalm Death – Harmony Corruption
• Neurosis – The Word as Law
• 9.0 – Too Far Gone
• Nocturnus – The Key
• Non-Fiction – Non-Fiction (EP)
• John Norum – Live in Stockholm (live EP)
• Obituary – Cause of Death
• Opprobrium – Beyond the Unknown (as Incubus)
• Pantera – Cowboys from Hell
• Paradise Lost – Lost Paradise
• Poison – Flesh & Blood
• Chris Poland – Return to Metalopolis
• Praying Mantis & Paul Di'Anno, Dennis Stratton – Live at Last (live)
• Pretty Maids – Jump the Gun
• Primus – Frizzle Fry
• Prong – Beg to Differ
• Psychotic Waltz – A Social Grace
• Pungent Stench - For God Your Soul... For Me Your Flesh
• Queensrÿche – Empire
• Quicksand – Quicksand (EP)
• Quiet Riot – Winners Take All
• Quireboys – A Bit of What You Fancy
• Rage – Reflections of a Shadow
• Ratt – Detonator
• Realm – Suiciety
• Razor - Shotgun Justice
• Recon – Behind Enemy Lines
• Reverend – World Won't Miss You
• Rhino Bucket – Rhino Bucket
• Riot – The Privilege of Power
• Riverdogs – Riverdogs
• Sacred Reich – The American Way
• Sacred Warrior – Wicked Generation
• Sacrifice – Soldiers of Misfortune
• Sadus – Swallowed in Black
• Saint Vitus - V
• Salty Dog – Every Dog Has Its Day
• Sanctuary – Into the Mirror Black
• Scatterbrain – Here Comes Trouble
• Scorpions – Crazy World
• Slaughter – Stick It to Ya
• Slaughter – Stick It Live (live EP)
• Slayer – Seasons in the Abyss
• Sleeze Beez – Screwed Blued and Tattooed
• Sodom - Better Off Dead
• Sons of Angels – Sons of Angels
• Soundgarden – Screaming Life/Fopp
• Spread Eagle – Spread Eagle
• Steelheart – Steelheart
• Steve Vai – Passion and Warfare
• Stone – Colours
• Stryper – Against the Law
• Suicidal Tendencies – Lights...Camera...Revolution!
• Sweet F.A. – Stick To Your Guns
• Talisman – Talisman
• Tankard – The Meaning of Life
• Tesla – Five Man Acoustical Jam (live)
• Thunder – Backstreet Symphony
• Tiamat - Sumerian Cry
• Tigertailz – Bezerk
• Testament – Souls of Black
• Tourniquet – Stop the Bleeding
• Trixter – Trixter
• Trouble – Trouble
• U.D.O. – Faceless World
• V2 – Out to Launch
• Vader – Morbid Reich (demo)
• Vengeance Rising – Once Dead
• Vicious Rumors – Vicious Rumors
• Vio-lence – Oppressing the Masses
• Vow Wow – Mountain Top
• Bill Ward - Ward One: Along the Way
• Warfare – Hammer Horror
• Warrant – Cherry Pie
• Warrior Soul – Last Decade Dead Century
• Winger – In the Heart of the Young
• Winter - Into Darkness
• WWIII – World War III
• Xentrix – For Whose Advantage?
• Xysma – Above the Mind of Morbidity
• Y&T – Ten
• Zebra – Live (live)

Disbandments

• Atrophy (reformed in 2015)
• Griva

Events

• Adrian Smith, Iron Maiden's lead guitarist, leaves the band to pursue a solo career. Janick Gers is hired to replace him.
• Metallica wins the first ever Grammy award in the category of Best Metal Performance for the song "One."
• The infamous Clash of the Titans tour is this year, headlined by bands such as Slayer, Megadeth, Anthrax, Testament, Suicidal Tendencies, and others.
• August 7: Extreme release their second album Pornograffitti . The album peaked at number 10 on the Billboard 200 album chart and sold very well, due to the success of its single "More Than Words", which reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart a year later.
• Judas Priest was involved in a multimillion-dollar lawsuit involving two Nevada teenager suicides allegedly caused by the song "Better by You, Better than Me". The band won the case.
• Faith No More's The Real Thing , carried by the single "Epic", also cracks the Billboard Top 10.
• Marty Friedman joins Megadeth replacing Jeff Young on guitar.
• Possessed frontman, Jeff Becerra is paralyzed from the waist down after being shot in a mugging on his way home from work.
• Lȧȧz Rockit, Death Angel, Sacred Reich and others are featured on the soundtrack of Leatherface: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre III .

Preceded by 1989

Heavy Metal Timeline 1990

Succeeded by 1991